Bob Finnan: Cavaliers' Tristan Thompson needs to play with fire

Indiana Pacers' Ben Hansbrough (23) and Cleveland Cavaliers' Tristan Thompson (13) battle for a rebound during the second half of an NBA basketball game on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012, in Indianapolis. The Pacers defeated the Cavaliers 96-81. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Most just refer to him as a pest. The Pacers' Tyler Hansbrough showed his alter ego with about 10 minutes remaining Wednesday in a 96-81 victory over the Cavaliers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Cavs power forward Tristan Thompson, who wears a mask to protect a nasal fracture, pulled down a rebound in traffic. His mask slid across his face, which impaired his sight and might have caused him to get a bit disoriented. He accidently threw an elbow, which caught Hansbrough's younger brother, Ben, in the side of the head.

Thompson immediately threw his hands in the air and tried to let the Hansbrough family know that he wasn't trying to elbow the 6-3 rookie guard from Notre Dame.

Thompson earned a flagrant-1 foul.

No one is calling for Thompson to stand up to Hansbrough and square off on the court. Fighting has long ago been outlawed in the NBA. It's just not condoned.

However, I am calling for the 6-9, 227-pound Thompson to play with some fire.

Let's backtrack here. Thompson is a nice guy. One can tell he's had a good upbringing. The Canadian is polite, always smiling, good-natured and media-friendly.

Those aren't necessarily bad things. As long as he transforms into a monster on the court.

I like those guys that scratch, bite and claw on the court. Guys like teammate Anderson Varejao.

That man will do anything to get a competitive advantage in a game.

Thompson isn't that guy. He just goes merrily on his way. In his mind, he plays hard and does his best. He earns $4 million a season and should be set for life.

If the 21-year-old scores four points and has nine rebounds like he did against the Pacers, that is now a pretty good game for Thompson.

The point is, the bar has been lowered for the former No. 4 overall pick in the 2011 draft. Fans and some in the media don't expect him to do much of anything anymore.

Once, stardom was predicted. That's no longer the case. It's to the point where the Cavs might have to find a suitable replacement. I was asked twice at Quicken Loans Arena on Tuesday how long I thought it would take the Cavs to replace Thompson in the starting lineup with rookie center Tyler Zeller.

I replied that it probably wouldn't happen because it would be like the front office was admitting it made a mistake.

If Thompson was the No. 16 pick in the first round, there wouldn't be such pressure for him to succeed. As a No. 4 pick, it could set back a franchise years if he doesn't pan out.

He's averaging 8.3 points, 7.7 rebounds and 0.6 blocks. He's shooting 45.1 percent from the field and 55 percent from the foul line (actually worse than last year).

Cavs coach Byron Scott says he doesn't care how many points Thompson scores. He wants him to concentrate on defense and rebounding.

That's good, too, because he looks worse on offense than he did when he arrived as a raw young pup from the University of Texas in 2011. His "shot" is so messed up right now one almost cringes when he attempts a jump hook.

If Thompson is a productive big man, it doesn't matter if he starts or comes off the bench.

But when was the last time you saw him get upset about something on the court? I'm not saying he needs to fly off the handle, but get hacked off once in a while about something. Maybe he'll get mad after reading this column, who knows?

The fact is, he needs to play with some intensity and fire. Perhaps that will help him become the player many think he can be.